


Meant to be

by blueelvewithwings



Series: Carver Week 2017 [2]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Carver week 2017, Light Angst with Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Prison AU, Prison guard! Carver, Prisoner!Anders, day 7: AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-10-28 11:55:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10830777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueelvewithwings/pseuds/blueelvewithwings
Summary: Carver has been working as a prison guard for almost a decade, and it turns out that despide everything his connection to a certain prisoner might be deeper than he had first thought. Things look bleak at first, but it turns out there might be a happy ending even for those that society branded evil.





	Meant to be

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Carver week 2017. Crossposted on tumblr.

Carver groaned when he saw the work roster for the coming week, and that he was assigned to wing number three again. There was talk among the management to assign the guards permanent stations, and Carver feared he already knew where he would end up.

There was only a single occupant in wing three at the moment, and Carver didn‘t even know what he had done. He didn‘t talk about it, and Carver didn‘t press. It must have been something very bad though if it got him into the high security tract of the prison.

He snatched his key card and the cell keys and made his way over to his day‘s work. He made sure that his steps were very audible before he opened the door, a little curtesy for the prisoner so he wouldn‘t be caught in a private moment.

„Good morning“ he greeted with a nod, and was greeted with a very quiet good morning in return.

Anders was always polite and curteous, but always withdrawn as well. He didn‘t speak much, and never got any visitors either. Carver had known him for a few years now, and he felt himself falling for the man. It was stupid, he knew it. The guy was probably in here for serial murder or something, and he was developing a crush on him. Still, he couldn‘t help it.

„How are you this morning?“ he asked as he put Anders‘ breakfast down in front of the blond man with what he hoped looked like a professional smile. He got a little shrug in return, and then Anders looked at him.

„I only have to serve six more months now. Six months from today and I‘ll be out“ he murmured.

Carver nodded, he knew that, of course, but he couldn‘t help but feel a little twinge in his chest. Six months and he‘d never see the guy again. It would be better for him if he just didn‘t come here anymore now already. But he had no say in that, and he found himself in charge of Anders almost daily now.

„I have no idea what I‘ll do then“ the man said around a bite of bread and shrugged again. „I‘ve been in here for so long...“ Most prisoners were sent to work, do woodworking or hair cutting or gardening or whatever, but Andrs had been seen as too dangerous, apparently. He could only ever leave his cell for one hour a day to walk around his yard – alone.

It must be so lonely, Carver realised, to only be able to speak with your guards a few phrases a day and be completely alone otherwise. No internet, no telephone, no television. Just a few books that looked like they had been read over and over and over again.

„Have you tried talking to the director? I know there are programs to help people who feel like they are floating aimlessly after they‘ve been released. And maybe you could get help already now as well, to see what chances you have to get a job?“

Anders huffed and stood up, walking to the window. „I won‘t. Who would employ the man that blew up the Kirkwall chantry after all?“

And just like that, it was out. That was what he had done. What had gotten him locked away for years and years. Carver hadn‘t known for how long Anders had been here, only that he had already been imprisoned by the time Carver had been transferred here almost a decade ago. But the Kirkwall Chantry incident… He didn‘t quite know but it had been at least another five or ten years back. He had been busy with himself at the time, sorting out his own life and future and trying to stay friendly with his family. He knew that the Chantry incident had been a catalysator for the freeing of the mages and the abolishing of the Circles, but he‘d rather worked with helping mages get accepted and integrated into society than spending much thought on the history and theoretic aspects of it. But to see him now, to know that he‘d known him for years, this polite man who never complained, never said an unkind word, who seemed to accept his punishment for what it was and take it as appropriate…

He‘d known that the man that blew up the chantry had gotten a life sentence, which he had found unfair already back then, and he was more than relieved now to hear that apparently he would be released soon after all. He had spent enough of his life behind bars then, first in the Circle and then in the prison.

That also explained some of the scars he had seen litter the man‘s body. His treatment in the Circles really must have been as bad as they always said.

He suddenly realised that Anders was looking at him strangely, and he jumped a little and shook his head. It wouldn‘t do to get distracted on the job. He remembered what the conversation had been about then, and gave a nod. He knew that many hailed Anders as a hero, but there wouldn‘t be much of a chance for him to find employment, not with a prison sentence like that behind him and the weight of what he had done on his shoulders. Not to mention that he wasn‘t the very youngest anymore now.

But then something occured to him and he frowned a little. „Actually I might know someone who would“ he said, and was rewarded with those gorgeous honey-brown eyes turning on him with a very surprised look.

He swallowed a little and curled his hands into fists. He had no idea if this was a good idea.

„I know you were a doctor, highly educated, and you even had awards for your charity work with those in need. I know someone who runs a free clinic. It‘s a mage clinic, and they treat mainly those who can‘t afford Chantry healthcare. They don‘t make much so what they pay isn‘t much at all, but they‘re always looking for someone to join the team.“

Anders looked at him, and then down at his hands which were now shaking. There was a faint smile on his face, but it quickly disappeared again.

„I‘ve been in here for decades“ he sighed. „I have no idea what‘s going on in medicine these days. I don‘t even know if I‘d be any good. And it‘s not yet out if I‘ll even be allowed to use my magic again… ever.“ A shiver run through him, and Carver could imagine that he would rather get rid of the magic suppression collar he had been wearing ever since they had arrested him after Kirkwall.

„But then again… anything is better than nothing. Even if I just prepare bandages and make salves. I‘ll need some money, to afford a place to live that‘s not under a bridge.“

Anders‘ voice was steady as he spoke, but there was a deep deep sadness in it. Carver decided that Anders really had served out his sentence now, and that it was high time that the man was let out again. And Bethany would be delighted to take him in, he just knew it. Her very own charity case and the hero of Kirkwall himself. Carver made a mental note not to tell Anders that the clinic was named after him before he absolutely had to.

„I will talk to her, maybe she‘ll come here during the visiting hours to talk it through with you in a few days?“ It only felt polite to phrase it as a question, even though it wasn‘t as if Anders had anything better to do than to sit and wait for time to pass. Just as expected though, he simply smiled and nodded and thanked Carver in that quiet voice of his that made his stomach flip and he just knew that he would really really miss this guy. It was a shame that Bethany didn‘t live anywhere near him.

 

Carver went home from work, feeling exhausted and beyond tired and looking forward to a warm shower and his bed. It was a year today that Anders had been released, and even though he felt guilty for it he couldn‘t help but to wish that he was back. He missed the man, even more now that he was permanently assigned to the high security tract and it was filled with people that regularly tried to knock him out, strangle him or get rid of him in some other way.

He approached his house and frowned when he saw a stranger standing there, hands in his pockets and looking lost, somehow. He was about to ask if he could help him when it hit him. _Anders_. He looked so different in normal clothes, with a hat on and his hair reaching to his shoulders instead of the obligatory prison buzzcut. He looked good, years younger than when Carver had last seen him.

He stopped a few feet away, not quite sure what to say and why he would suddenly show up in front of his house.

„Bethany is visiting Sebastian, so I came with her“ Anders said, without greeting, as if he had read Carver‘s thoughts. „I thought I could come… say thank you.“

„Whatever for?“ Carver asked, opening the front door and holding it open to let the other man in.

„Treating me like a human back there. Not strangling me when finding out what I did. Getting me a job. Keeping me alive.“ Carver turned around, frowning. „I did my job. You were in there to serve your punishment for what you did, but you were still a human being. Are still a human being. No need to be cruel. You were sentenced to being locked up, not being treated like a piece of shit.“ He shrugged, his mind still reeling on the keeping me alive part. He hoped that Anders had never felt the urge to end it.

„I thought about ending it a few times“ Anders spoke, again as if he could read Carver‘s thoughts. „But I didn‘t want to make you sad. You were everything I had and I just… I couldn‘t disappoint you.“

Carver let them into the apartment, stunned silent for the moment. He looked at Anders, how lost and anxious he still looked, and then he decidedly kicked the door closed and hugged the older man to his chest. He felt so frail in his arms, thin and worn out from years of sadness and no excercise.

Thin arms sneaked around him, and even though there were no sounds Carver knew exactly what that wetness was that was soaking his shirt now.

„You never disappointed me. You stayed strong, and you made it out. You didn‘t give in. I‘m so proud of you“ he murmured, and despite the situation he felt a rush of glee as he pulled off the other‘s hat and ran a hand through his soft hair. Just like he had always wanted to. Just like he had never thought he‘d be able to.

 

Hours later, when Bethany called him to see if she needed to pick Anders up, said mage was curled up on Carver‘s couch, draped over Carver like a blanket and sleeping tightly. Running a hand through the blond strands, Carver told his twin sister that Anders was very welcome to stay the night and that they had a coffee date for the following day and a dinner date for the day after. _I‘ve always wanted to ask you out for coffee, but I couldn‘t go anywhere and I was too shy when I was finally out_ , Anders had said. _And I‘ve always wanted to take you to dinner, but asking you straight out of prison seemed inappropriate,_ Carver had replied. And then they had laughed, faces buried in the other‘s shoulder, and their hands had just found one another and entwined, and when they had kissed it had felt as natural as breathing.

Maybe some things were just meant to be.


End file.
